My favourite section of the local library is history. What about you? Imagine if one Saturday morning you showed up at the library, only to find your favourite books reduced to a pile of ashes.

Centuries ago that is what happened when thousands of books at the Library of Alexandria caught fire. Alexandria was the place to do research in the ancient world. Then on a fateful day in 47 bc, Julius Caesar set fire to his ships in the Alexandrian harbour to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. The fire soon spread to the docks and the naval arsenal, ultimately destroying 400,000 of the library’s precious scrolls.

Such a tragedy shows just how perishable written materials can be. This makes the preservation of our Bible such a marvel. The Word of God has survived book burnings, riots, revolutions, persecutions and catastrophes. Yet scholars tell us that the manuscripts have been accurately preserved through millennia of copying.

God inspired the writing of Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16) and has promised to preserve it through the centuries (Isa. 40:8). Next time you open your Bible, take a moment to reflect on how precious it is and thank God for keeping it safe for you.

Author

Dennis Fisher

Topics

Our Daily Bread